GET REEL: ‘Diner’ puts nostalgia on the plate

Monday

Jul 10, 2017 at 11:49 AMJul 10, 2017 at 9:37 PM

Bob Tremblay @BobTremblay_MW

Full disclosure: I’m a sucker for movies that nosh on nostalgia. Perhaps this predilection stems from being ancient. You don’t hear too many teens saying, “Boy, I really long for those middle school years.” “Yeah, who can forget those good old days when we had no control over our lives?”

Advanced age does give one the opportunity to look back more than a few years at a past filled with memories fond, wistful or disastrous. These recollections can also provide the fodder for films, as directors have been known to make withdrawals from their memory banks for autobiographical or semi-autobiographical movies.

Two American directors who have done this brilliantly are George Lucas with “American Graffiti” (1973) and Barry Levinson with “Diner” (1982).

While “American Graffiti” recalls Lucas' time growing up in California – the film asks the question, “Where were you in ’62?” - “Diner” represents the first of Levinson’s four films taking place in his hometown of Baltimore. “Diner,” set in 1959, was followed by “Tin Men,” “Avalon” and “Liberty Heights.”

In addition to their nostalgic bona fides, “American Graffiti” and “Diner” share other traits. For example, both films showcase killer soundtracks, featuring music from their respective eras.

Both films also launched or helped advance several careers. Ron Howard was probably the most recognizable name in “Graffiti” thanks to his childhood roles, most notably on “The Andy Griffith Show,” but his career as an adult only took off after “Graffiti.” The film also gave a cinematic shot in the arm to the careers of Richard Dreyfuss, Paul LeMat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips, making her film debut, Candy Clark, who was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar, Harrison Ford and Suzanne Somers, who played "the Blonde in the Thunderbird."

The film’s success also gave Lucas the necessary career boost so he could make his next film, a little something called “Star Wars.” “Graffiti” was only his second feature film after “THX 1138.”

“Diner,” meanwhile, served as a springboard for the careers of Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Paul Reiser, Ellen Barkin and Tim Daly. The movie represented film debuts for Reiser, Barkin and Daly. It also marked Levinson’s directorial debut. He had previously written screenplays for other directors, such as Mel Brooks’ “High Anxiety” and “Silent Movie.” Levinson received his first Oscar nomination for co-writing “…and Justice for All.” He would receive a second for penning “Diner” and later strike Oscar gold for directing “Rain Man,” a film that also won the top award for best picture, best screenplay (Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass) and best actor (Dustin Hoffman).

Having already discussed “American Graffiti” in a previous column, I’m focusing this time on “Diner.”

To appreciate the film, you don’t have be a nostalgia nut like yours truly. You just have to have an affinity for quality filmmaking. Fans of films loaded with mindless action, gratuitous sex, special effects and sophomoric humor might want to stay away, though, as this movie contains none of those elements. About as bawdy as the film gets is the infamous popcorn scene where a character has made a bet with his friends that he can get a woman to touch a certain part of his anatomy. Gals, you just may want to think twice about sharing a bag of popcorn with a guy after seeing this film.

Anyway, “Diner” focuses instead on the lives of a group of post-high school friends who turn male bonding into an Olympic sport. Subject matters of choice include football, gambling, music and movies with females on the outside looking in. Just pity the poor women who have to deal with these guys as their maturity levels hover on a par with a 10-year-old boy. Nothing new there, right, ladies?

How immature is this male menagerie? The film centers around the impending marriage of Eddie Simmons (Guttenberg), but whether he goes through with the marriage depends on whether his fiancee passes a test with questions pertaining to the Baltimore Colts, his favorite football team. If she fails, the marriage is off. Gridiron gurus will know that the Colts would later play in and win the NFL championship game in Baltimore. This was before the Super Bowl and the Colts bolted to Indianapolis.

Eddie isn’t the only bloke with arrested development of the felonious kind. His pal Shrevie (Stern) goes ballistic when his wife Beth (Barkin) puts one of his records in the wrong place in his meticulously arranged collection. They’ve only been married a short time and she’s already a long-suffering wife. The odds of this marriage lasting into double-digit years are about as good as the sun rising in the west.

Then there’s Fen (Bacon), who would make Peter Pan envious with his aversion to growing up. Punching out windows, camping out in a manger, mocking contestants on the G.E. College Bowl (he knows all the answers) and strenuously avoiding work - he’s the total puerile package, a poster boy for underachievers everywhere.

Boogie (Rourke) fares a little better. At least he has a job. Unfortunately he owes a lot of money to a loan shark. Hence the aforementioned popcorn bet. Then again, you have to wonder about a guy who swills a dispenser filled with sugar followed by a Coke chaser.

Modell (Reiser), meanwhile, acts as a human irritant, whether it’s bumming or not bumming off roast beef sandwiches or debating which singer croons the best make-out music: Johnny Mathis or Frank Sinatra.

About the most mature male in this troupe is Billy (Daly), a graduate school student who comes back to Baltimore for the Eddie’s wedding and would like to rekindle a relationship with a former flame. The flame has other ideas, however.

Like “American Graffiti,” “Diner” operates as a series of vignettes rather than a film with a plot where an inciting incident propels the protagonist forward into action. No heroes go on a journey here. Think “Seinfeld,” the TV show famous for being about nothing.

“Diner” does have a focal point, though, and surprise, surprise, it’s the diner where the characters congregate, typically after a misadventure. Here, we meet a character who eats nearly every dish on the menu, a character who butts in on conservations to recite random lines from “The Sweet Smell of Success” and a character nicknamed Bagel because he eats bagels.

But it’s also here where we can see friendship, the type of friendship that has been built up and cemented for years, the type of friendship so rare these days as friends often go their separate ways when they grow up, or attempt to grow up. How many adults today see a group of their childhood friends on a consistent basis? You’re lucky to see them at a high school reunion.

In “Diner,” these guys may not be the best adult role models, but they demonstrate the value of friendship. They just happen to be very confused friends, and that confusion – some might say cluelessness - is what Levinson mines for dramatic and comic gold.

“You ever get the feeling there’s something going on that we don’t know about?” Fen asks Boogie. Consider that a rhetorical question of Bunyanesque proportions.

Enjoyment in watching “Diner” comes from listening to Levinson’s pitch-perfect dialogue and watching gifted actors and actresses deliver those words with panache.

There is a bittersweet taste to “Diner,” another trait it shares with “American Graffiti,” where the closing credits reveal what happens to the main characters. Few sweet smells of success here. If “Diner” had repeated that move, the results might have been similar. Actually, Levinson’s subsequent Baltimore films provide answers, though with different characters.

While “Diner” ends differently, it still packs a punch. Sorry, no spoiler. See the film. And if you’ve already seen it, see it again. It improves with multiple viewings.

“Diner” is often described as a coming-of-age film, though this aging process gets stunted by female befuddlement and rampant immaturity. Innocence will soon to fall by the wayside. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of American history knows what’s going to happen in the country after 1962. As for 1959, Fidel Castro is making waves in Cuba, which just happens to be the country where Eddie plans to spend his honeymoon.

When the adult world beckons, one can expect that these happy-go-lucky guys will be served a super-sized portion of reality not found on the menu at their beloved diner.

Last month’s tester: This actor appeared in 13 films during the 1950s. His co-stars included four Oscar-winning actresses and five Oscar-winning actors. Clue: He appeared in two films with one of these actresses.

Answer: John Williams, the British actor, not the American composer.

No one answered the question correctly.

This month’s tester: This Oscar-winning actress made her film debut as a teen in a movie featuring two Oscar-winning actors, an actor who was nominated for two Oscars and two actresses who were nominated for Oscars.

The first reader to answer the question correctly will receive a prize.

Trivia enthusiasts can call me at 508-626-4409 or email me at rtremblay@wickedlocal.com. Make sure you leave your name, address and phone number on my message machine or email so I can contact you if you answered the question correctly. The address is needed so winners can be mailed their prize. Callers should spell out their names slowly and clearly so their names will be spelled correctly in the column.